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Author Notes: This gazpacho is really, super-duper simple. It requires few dishes. The instructions boil down to: chop vegetables, mix vegetables. It's also really delicious. The ingredients are a riot of summer–a balance of sweetness and acidity, with just a gentle nudge in the direction of spicy. It's perfect for hot weather. If you really want to make a meal of it, you can’t go wrong with the addition of shrimp (or crab, or lobster, if you want to be fancy about it). - cristinasciarra

Serves 4

3 tomatoes (they should feel heavy for their size)

1 ripe peach

1 Kirby cucumber

1 small purple onion, divided

1 garlic clove

1/2 a jalapen?o pepper

1 shallot

1 pinch dried oregano

1 pinch paprika

3/4 teaspoon sea salt

black pepper

2 tablespoons sherry (or red wine) vinegar

3 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 cup cherry or grape tomatoes (as garnish)

1/2 a ripe avocado (as garnish)

1 ear of corn (as garnish)

Boil a medium pot of water. While you are waiting for the water to heat up, prepare an ice bath. Use the tip of a knife to draw an X into the bottoms of the tomatoes and the peach. (This will make removing the skins a breeze.)

Peel the skins off the tomatoes and the peach; they should slide right off. Also remove any stems from the tomatoes. Discard the skins and stems. (You could also save them for a stock.)

Dice up the tomatoes and the peach, making your best effort to keep the juices on the cutting board. It doesn’t have to look pretty. Move everything to a large bowl.

Next, dice the: cucumber, 1/2 the purple onion, the garlic clove, the jalapen?o half (seeds removed), and the shallot. Toss everything into the bowl with the tomatoes and the peach.

Into the bowl goes the: oregano, paprika, sea salt, a healthy crack of black pepper, the peach balsamic vinegar, the sherry vinegar, and the olive oil. Give everything a good stir.

Move the contents of the bowl to a blender or a food processor. (If you don’t have one, you could always enjoy what you’ve made as a salad.) Blend the gazpacho to your desired texture. (I blend mine about 30 seconds, because I like it to be smooth, but still to retain a little texture. If you want it totally smooth, blend for about 1 minute.)

Empty the gazpacho back into the large bowl. Cover it with plastic, and move it to the fridge for 1-3 hours. (Of course you can eat it right away, but it’s better to give the flavors a chance to meld. It’s good in the fridge, covered, for about 2 days.)

While the gazpacho is chilling in the fridge, prepare the garnishes. With the second 1/2 of the red onion, I like to create wispy slices with my mandolin, but you could also do a fine dice. The cherry tomatoes just need to be washed, and cut into quarters. The avocado can be sliced or diced. You can grill, simmer or steam the corn. Just cut the kernels off the cob before you’re ready to serve.